


Let Me Fall Into You

by mori87



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Baggage, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Love Triangles, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:14:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28432245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mori87/pseuds/mori87
Summary: Her one priority in life was to keep Eren safe even if it meant he’d never feel the same about her. When a strange occurrence happens between Mikasa and the captain she always hated, those lines start to blur. Will she keep her priorities straight or will this new found strength cause her to change her life?
Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Levi
Comments: 12
Kudos: 80





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first Attack on Titan fic, so I’m sorry if it isn’t the best but god I love the dynamic between Mikasa and Levi. Please keep in mind that my characters are aged up to be 21 in this fic. Levi and Mikasa are also not related. Hope y’all enjoy I’ll try to be regular with updates:)

For most of her life, Mikasa was able to control the fear that constantly wanted to emerge from her mind. Ever since the death of her parents, she had found a way to shove the fear that encroached into her mind far away from her. The first time since her parents death she felt real fear was when Armin informed her that Eren sacrificed himself to save Armin. Everything hit her in an instant causing her mind to explode as she believed her last piece of family was yet another causality in a war against mindless beasts. The fear entered her body like a plague that made her entire being shake. She couldn’t remember a time when her body hurt more than that moment until now.

Mikasa watched as the female titan bit the entire nape of Eren’s titan in one fell swoop. Time seemed to slow as blood sprayed everywhere encasing Mikasa in the sticky mess. She watched Eren’s body fall into the mouth of the female titan with ease as the female titan rose from her spot. The titan made eye contact with Mikasa for a split second, then turned and ran at an inhuman speed. Mikasa couldn’t help the scream that fell from her lips. Her entire world was just taken from her yet again. The pain came barreling in as her senses came back to her and time started again. It happened again. Her family being torn away from her in plain sight with nothing she could do except watch.

No. She thought. Not this time.

Just like when she watched the kidnapper choke Eren almost to death, her senses came alive. She felt a power surge through her body along with a burning anger that raced through her veins. She felt fear and pain, but in that moment she knew she had to give her all in order to save Eren. The noises all around became obsolete as she released yet another primal scream except this one was filled with anger and determination. She was not going to lose him again. She was going to fight with every last ounce of strength she has in order to get him back. She had to. He was everything to her. She had made it her main priority in life to protect Eren, and she’d be damned if she was going to let that titan take away her love.

Mikasa zipped through the trees at a godly speed, easily catching up to the titan that held her life in its giant jaws. As the titan came into her view, she felt her body on fire with power and adrenaline coursing through it. Mikasa ready her blades as the titan continued to run full speed through the forest. She sized up her opponent as she glided effortlessly through the trees. Mikasa decided that if the titan had Eren, he was being held in her enormous mouth which allowed for the female titan to freely use her hands if necessary. She felt the unique power coursing through her as she swung her body to angle her blades at the titan’s mouth.

“Give him back!” Mikasa yelled as she ran her blades into the side of the titan’s face slicing through the thick flesh.

The slice did little to free Eren, so Mikasa ran her blades through the titan’s arms and down her body. She twisted all around slicing her wherever she could reach, but the titan healed too quickly for her to do any real damage. In another effort, Mikasa sliced through the back of the titan’s knees causing her to fall face forward. Mikasa released another yell as she steadied herself against the thick trunk of a tree.

“I promise Eren once I get you out of there, I will carve this bitch inside out to make her pay for what she’s done.” Mikasa growled as she sent a death glare to the fallen titan.

Before Mikasa could begin another assault, the female titan rose from her fallen position and sent her arm flying towards Mikasa full force. She barely had time to react as she was sent flying from her refuge on the tree trunk. Mikasa tried to look for a spot to grapple her ODM, but she was falling too quickly to see clearly. Then, Mikasa felt her breath leave her body as something slammed into her causing her to gasp at the sudden contact. She looked up from her position and realized she wasn’t falling to the ground anymore, but gliding through the air. Mikasa turned her eyes to see that Captain Levi had stopped her from falling and was gliding through the woods with an aggravated look on his face. He glanced down at her with his eyes tightening as he gave a small huff of annoyance.

“You’re going to end up as titan shit like Eren if you think you can take her down yourself.” He said coldly as his grip on her lightened up allowing her to use her ODM and ride alongside him.

Mikasa gave the captain a death glare as she said, “We have to get to him and kill that bitch.”

Captain Levi glanced over to her as he spoke, “She bit his nape it is more than likely that Eren is dead now.”

“He’s alive! She could’ve easily crushed him back when they were fighting, but she took him in her mouth. She’s not like other titans; she is intelligent and has a plan for him.”

“That may be what it seems like, but you can’t let your personal feelings get in the way, cadet. We are not trained to deal with this kind of titan.”

“Well, if you had just done your damn job then we wouldn’t be in this situation!” Mikasa yelled as they hurdled through the forest.

Levi narrowed his eyes and twisted his body to where he was facing Mikasa. He eyed her up and down and said, “Oh, I see. You must be the childhood best friend.”

Mikasa let out a small sigh and focused on the titan in front of them instead of her aggravating captain. She couldn’t understand how her captain could be so condescending as the life of one of his cadets lay in the balance. The female titan was still running quickly through the woods but not at the rate she was running when Mikasa first arrived. Levi noticed this to and turned his body back to the front.

“She weaker from the fight. If you can distract her, then I’ll cut Eren out of her mouth and see if he’s alive.” Levi said seriously.

“I already tried that. Her skin heals too quickly for you to do any damage to it.” Mikasa said as her eyes trailed over to the giantess ahead of them. The air was whipping past her face bringing slight tears to her eyes. She couldn’t tell if they were from the cold sting of the air or just her own frustrations.

Levi’s stony eyes looked almost bored as he regarded his subordinate. “She’s not going to be able to heal quicker than I can cut. Do as I say, cadet. This is no time to argue like an obnoxious kid.”

Mikasa glared heavily at her captain but nodded as she started to plan out her distraction. She heard her captain say one last thing before she jetted in front of the titan’s legs.

“Don’t get yourself killed over dead brat, cadet.”

Mikasa huffed as she maneuvered her way in front of the titan’s body. I know you’re alive Eren. She thought as she began twisting her way through the titan’s legs causing the huge beast to look down and spot her. The titan lifted one of her arms as she planned to smack Mikasa out of the air, but Mikasa heard the sound of a blade slashing into skin before it could happen. Mikasa grappled her ODM to the nearest tree trunk as she watch her captain begin his assault against the female titan.

Levi expertly made his way up the titans arm by forcing his blades into her arm and spiraling up the length of her arm. He pulled his blades out and jumped through the air towards her face just in time to stab his blades into both of her eyes rendering her blind. Levi continued his assault as his sliced through her body at record speeds. Mikasa honestly couldn’t believe her eyes. She had seen her captain in action before, but never with this much speed and strength. It was as if the titan’s flesh was like butter to him as he easily glided his blades across the back of her knees. This action caused her to fall forward sending a big crash across the forest floor. The female titan was still covering her nape with her huge hands as she sat with her back against one of the trees. Levi took this as a chance to slice at her fingers and down the rest of her arm. He was too fast for her to react, and her arm ungracefully fell to her sides leaving her nape now exposed. Mikasa saw that this was her chance to finally kill this monster for all the pain she has caused her comrades. The titan had already taken so much from everyone in the corps. Mikasa could put an end to all the suffering and avenge the fallen. Levi, who was now grappled to a tree across from Mikasa, noticed her sizing up her opportunity and reached out his arm as he yelled.

“Don’t do it, cadet! We don’t need to kill her, we just need Jaeger!”

It was too late as Mikasa already sent her ODM into the back of the titans neck and pulled herself flying towards her nape. Mikasa ready her blades as she got closer to her target. Her heart was beating erratically as she got into position. Right before she could land her killing blow, she saw a hardened substance emerge to form a protective barrier around the nape of the titan. Mikasa’s blades hit the hardened structure and shattered into pieces as Mikasa was thrown because of the blow. For the second time that day, Levi stepped in and grabbed her body from falling to the ground and pulled her into him. Mikasa felt a rush of air escape her as she moved her body into the captain’s hard chest. As he did this, however, he felt a snap in his ankle causing hot pain to radiate up his leg. He steadied them on the shoulder of the titan and glanced down to see his ankle broken. He grunted and released his hold on Mikasa in order to send her a death glare.

“What did I say! You could’ve just gotten yourself killed for disobeying my orders!” He yelled at her.

“I thought I had an opportunity to kill her! She had nape exposed finally, I could’ve don-“

“No, you let personal feelings get in the way of your safety which almost ended with you dead at the bottom of the ground!”

Mikasa hesitated for a second not realizing the severity of her actions and softly said, “I-i just thought..”

“That’s the entire problem you didn’t think.” Levi said coldly. He looked at the titan then down at his now injured leg. Mikasa looked up to her captain’s face and noticed that he had blood running down the entirety of his face. He made a small attempt to wipe away some of the mess as he looked back to her his black fringe falling before his eyes.

“We have one more shot at getting Eren back before she heals, and we are done for.” Levi said, he pointed to her jaw and said, “ If we can cut at her jaw, it will cause her mouth to release open ,and we can grab him if he’s where you think he is.”

Mikasa nodded but quickly asked “How are we going to get him with your leg being injured?”

Levi huffed as he spoke, “I’m going to hold onto you as I slice at her jaw. When I do this, you’re going to reach into her mouth and pull out Jaeger.” 

“Simple enough.” Mikasa said as she readied her ODM gear. She had one goal on her mind, and she was going to put her all into grabbing Eren. 

Mikasa felt the captain wrap his arm tightly around her waist as he grasped one blade in his hand. Mikasa hadn’t noticed it till now, but she felt another strong surge of energy pulsing through her. It felt like she could feel both her and her captain’s determination coursing through her. Mikasa sent her ODM grappling to the tree opposite of them. She felt the captain tighten his grip on her as they soared towards the titans jaw. Levi landed his blade into the side of the titan’s mouth and roughly pulled his blade across her jaw. Mikasa could feel the resistance in the titan’s flesh as he tried to rake his blade through it. With only one blade, the titan’s skin seemed to be proving more difficult to cut than previously thought. Mikasa let her anger run through her as she nearly cried at the idea of failure. She was so close to getting Eren safely back in her arms only for the skin to not break properly. Levi seemed to be just as aggravated as her as he let out a small scream of frustration as he pulled harder against his blade. Mikasa twisted her body to turn in her captains arms and face his direction. She suddenly had an idea and placed her hand on top of her captain’s to pull with him. When she did this, she felt an electric pulse rush through her hand and her entire body. Mikasa felt like she had the power to kill a thousand titans as she and the short captain now easily sliced the titan’s mouth open. The titan’s cut mouth plopped open revealing a slimy body laying in the middle of its tongue.

Eren! Mikasa thought as she catapulted their bodies towards the seemingly lifeless figure in the mouth of the titan. Mikasa tried to reposition her body, but found she could not twist her way back to her original position. Just as she thought they wouldn’t be able to lift Eren’s body, Levi dropped his blade and grabbed Eren effortlessly. Seeing Eren being held against the captain, Mikasa guided ODM to a tree branch high above the titan’s body. The trio ungracefully fell against the tree branch, and Mikasa rolled until she hit the trunk of the tree. Her body was still humming with the extreme power she felt. Never in her life had she felt more alive and alert. It was almost addictive how good she felt in this moment even though her body just slammed into a tree.Lifting her head, she saw the captain leaning over Eren’s saliva covered body as fear washed over her. She had no clue what she would do if he really was dead. She had put her all into making sure he got back alive, and the stark reality that he could’ve easily died set in. She felt tears prick at her eyes as they connected with her captains.

“I-is he..” Mikasa whispered as she lifted her hand slightly pointing at Eren’s body.

“Don’t worry he’s alive. Disgusting but alive. You’ll be able to take your little boyfriend home after all.” Levi said with disgust laced through his words.

Mikasa released a shaky breath that she had been holding in as she weakly said, “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Levi walked over to her and offered his hand to help her up as he said, “Could’ve fooled me.” 

Touching his hand sent another small pulse of electricity through as he pulled her up. She noticed that he must have felt the same thing as he eyes widened just the smallest bit. What the hell was that? Mikasa could have sworn she heard him say as she made her way over to Eren. Mikasa shook the thoughts of the captain and the strange force she felt inside her as she looked down at Eren and saw lines cascading down his face from his recent transformation. She picked him up and held him against her chest. He felt light and soft against her as she put her hand onto his wet hair. She felt his small breaths release against her face as she turned to her captain. 

“Let’s get out of here captain.” She said as she saw him looking at the disfigured titan’s body. She noticed he looked a bit unnerved which was a rare look for the seasoned captain as he walked towards her and Eren.

“Let’s go, cadet”

—————————————————————————————————————

The trio was reunited with the rest of the squad once they made their way through the forest. Levi huffed as he hauled Jaeger’s unconscious body into the back of one of the carts. He angrily wiped off saliva that was sticking to his body once he put down Eren’s body. The expedition held tremendous loss for him as his elite squad were all viciously killed in an attempt to kill that female titan. Typically, losing his fellow comrades only affected him so much, but this time was different. His current squad had been by his side longer than any who had previously served for him. It wasn’t like Levi made friends, but he held a deep respect for each member since they had shown great skill and respect. Knowing that their deaths could’ve been prevented sent a dark pain down Levi’s spine that made him want to kill at least another 100 titans. He’d have to come back into the walls and deliver the emblems that each soldier carried on their uniforms to their unknowing family. He’d give a small speech explaining how they had been a vital part in the fight for humanity to their families all while hearing the sickening cries that were released by each family member. Then, he’d be assigned a new squad that would inevitably be killed by the titans,and he’d do the process all over again. He let a small sigh escape as he sat himself down in the cart next to Jaeger’s unconscious body. He eyed the shifter momentarily as he reflected on his attempt to rescue the kid.

Levi hated every aspect of that stupid rescue attempt from the minute he caught Eren’s little girlfriend in his arms. He knew very little about the Ackerman girl other than she had a strange obsession with Jaeger, and that she was highly skilled in combat. However, he got to come across the joyous news that she was willingly to not only disobey orders but put her life in danger for the weak brat who was all he had left of his squad. There was nothing that aggravated him more than a person who is willing to abandon an entire cause for one person. Levi had lost more people in his 30 years of living than he could remember. Each death had hardened him more and more till he felt nothing but a cold chill snake inside of him when he’d lose his people. Yet, he himself believed that no matter what, he wouldn’t have saved his comrades if it meant humanity could be destroyed. A hard truth for some, but he was more than accustomed to the tragedies of life. Then came the problem of this new shifter type titan he had to battle. So far, Jaeger was the only known shifter in their world, and he was still highly new in terms of understanding what he was. Hange was only able to run so many experiments on Eren before Erwin declared the latest expedition. Now, there was a similar type of titan running around who also appeared to come from within their ranks. This meant that humanity was at its most uncertain it has ever been. Not only that, but this titan had the ability to harden its skin so that their blades were basically ineffective against the creature. Levi was able to get the titan knocked down for a short amount of time, but he had no idea how they were going to be able to kill it while it was in its titan form. He knew the only option they had was to interrogate all their members to find out who was hiding among them. He knew this would lead to a lot of problems within the survey corps, military police, and the garrison. 

Levi felt the weight of the cart shift as he turned and glanced over to Ackerman climbing into the cart. She kneeled by Jaeger’s body and hesitantly placed her hand on top of his head. She kept her face impassive as she pulled up the red scarf she was wearing over her nose while beginning to run her hand down Eren’s hair. Levi had no idea what to think about the wild cadet. He, however, noticed a very odd event while fighting the female titan. When she placed her hands on top of his to help aid him in his attempts to cut through the titan’s mouth, he felt a strong surge of power rip through his body allowing him to cut through easily. It was, in his opinion, one of few times he felt the strongest. The energy flowing between them also allowed him to grab Eren’s body out the mouth of the titan. He thought that maybe it was just one big adrenaline rush, but he felt a similar electric feeling occur again when he helped her up after they fell to the tree trunk. He wondered in his mind what the hell that feeling was, and it seemed like Ackerman could’ve heard his exact thoughts. He had no clue what to think of the event. He knew that they shared the same last name even though he knew she was unaware of this information. He remembered Erwin handing him her file to see if there was any relation between then, but he found none. He pushed it off as just sharing a last name which was very common among many people. Levi let a small wonder into his mind about a story that Kenny had told him when he was younger. 

Levi had asked Kenny if he had ever felt this strong surge of strength roll through him when he was put in a dangerous situation. Kenny had answered by telling Levi that they came from a clan called the Ackermans. He continued by explaining how the people from this clan had incredible strength that allowed them to evade their memories from being altered by some king. Kenny said that Ackermans were prone to bonding themselves to a person and protecting them with their life. However, there was also a chance that two Ackermans could bond to each other and allow for abilities not seen in any other humans. At the time, Levi had just believed that Kenny was seriously fucking with him like he had always done. To be fair, Kenny had just informed Levi that he was indeed his uncle after Levi had to pry it out of him by almost slicing his throat. That information was a lot to take in for Levi, so he let Kenny’s little story fade to the back of his mind. However, these recent events made Levi wonder for just a second if it had anything to do with what had just happened. It was the closest thing he had to an answer, but Levi knew it was more than likely something more plausible like a big adrenaline rush. He did just see his entire squad dead at the bottom of the forest floor which could’ve caused a rush big enough to succeed at getting Eren. However, he couldn’t shake the memory of having her body so close to him and the intoxicating rush that came with it. The feeling felt like he had taken on an entire army by himself and only just broke a sweat. He hated to admit it, but a small part of him wanted to feel that rush again even if it meant having to hold the mindless brat.

He glanced over to Eren and saw that Ackerman had changed her position to sitting beside Jaeger. She looked to be in rough shape with cuts all over her face and body. The small red lines glistened with a sticky red sheen. Her jet black hair was a mess and there were blood stains running down her uniform. Levi was aware that it had to be her own blood or someone else’s since titan blood evaporated when it was spilled. He held little sympathy for her, however, since she had let herself into extreme danger with very little regard. She should’ve been trained to know when the danger is too extreme even if it means letting a fellow comrade die. 

“You try and pull a stunt like that again it’ll get you kicked out of the survey corps” Levi said harshly as he let some of his pent up anger out. He leaned his body to rest his elbows on his knees as he stared at the oriental girl.

Ackerman looked up from her spot, her hair falling around her face and glared at him while saying, “I did what was necessary to save Eren. No one else was doing anything, so I did what I had to.”

“It wasn’t your position to save him, and you almost got yourself killed in the process”

“I will always do whatever I need to save him! I don’t care if it's my position or not.” She bit out angrily. She pulled Jaeger’s head into her lap protectively posed to strike if someone tried anything.

“I don’t care what you think, brat. If I see you pulling something like that again, I’ll personally kick you out myself.” Levi said shortly.

“What? Am I not supposed to help save my fellow comrades when they are about to die?” Ackerman asked bitterly.

“You save your comrades when you don’t let your personal feelings get in the way.”

“There are no personal feelings between Eren and I, Sir.”

“Doesn’t matter. You made it personal, cadet. You have to remember your training and realize that your life matters as well. You’re one of our best fighters, so you can’t go throwing your life away like it's nothing. This is a fight to save humanity not to make sure Jaeger stays alive.” Levi said, clenching his jaw in annoyance.

“He’s our best shot at saving humanity. Seems like you’re forgetting all he’s done Captain.” Mikasa said curtly. 

Levi regarded her with a stony glare as he sat up and carded his hands through his hair. “You’re not always going to be there to help him, cadet. And even if you are, you’re not always going to be strong enough. Jaeger is his own person. Let him deal with his own battles. If he gets himself killed, then that’s on him.”

“No. None of you get it. He’s the best we have as far as saving humanity. I’m going to do what I need to do in order to protect that.” Mikasa nearly growled at her captain. She turned her head and wiped her hand across her face, smearing a small amount of blood with it.

The captain looked at the display with disgust heavily portrayed on his sharp features. He decided that there was no use in arguing with an obsessed brat as he had more pressing issues to oversee. They would be returning to headquarters soon which meant he’d be meeting with Erwin to discuss the recent events. It would be there where he’d be assigned a new squad whose lives would last no more than a few months. The deadly cycle would claim its new victims, and he’d be left to clean up the aftermath. Seems he always found himself cleaning no matter what. He sighed and laid his back against the hard wood of the cart. Visions of his dead squad plague through his mind the entire trip back. Their lifeless bodies caked in their own blood while they lay dead in a forest sent a cold reminder to him that no one was forever. No matter how old or young they are, everyone eventually meets their sad fate. Maybe it wasn’t all sad though. Levi had often thought of his own death and how that might bring him some final release. He constantly felt pent up emotions filling his being to its brim waiting to burst out. He saw no point in releasing them, however. What would crying or yelling do in terms of bringing back the ones he lost? In times like these, Levi felt utterly alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Levi released a heavy grunt as Hange’s hands meticulously wrapped bandaging around his ankle. The short man pushed the dirty scientists hands away as he decided she was taking too long to wrap a damn ankle. One thing he always hated was having Hange put her hands anywhere near him especially after a long expedition. Her wild hair was always caked with dirt, mud, and walls knows what other disgusting oddities. Her skin was marked with cuts and bruises trailing down around her cut up uniform. Levi’s eyes trailed to meet her eyes as they shined with utter excitement and care. He knew he would never understand what the annoying woman in front of him was always so enthralled about. She probably saw a smaller titan that she thought she could snatch up again. It would explain why her uniform was wrecked beyond belief. He had no clue where she or anyone one else in the Corps went once he went after the female titan. The entire expedition felt like one giant blur to him that was stained with the devastating deaths of his elite squad. Time was beginning to feel irrelevant to him as he was just starting to notice that they had in fact made it back to the castle. A sharp pain shot up his leg as his daze was broken, and he looked down to find Hange putting her grimy hands around his ankle.

“Fucking stop touching me, shitty glasses.” Levi said angrily smacking her hand away yet again. She stifled for just a second before adjusting her glasses and giving him a warm smile.

“There’s my angry little captain. Always so delicate with his words.” She teased as she stated, “I was merely trying to confirm that your ankle is not broken. It’s just sprained pretty bad.”

He huffed as he looked down at his apparently sprained ankle. Shifting his leg ever so slightly, he tested his weight on the floor only to find that his ankle created a dull pain. Levi was silently thankful that the pain had gone down to a dull ache. His dark hair danced around his face as he watched Hange make her way across the dimly lit room they were in. It was a small medical supply room that the castle had hidden within its cold walls. The walls were lined with miscellaneous concoctions of medicines and makeshift supplies. The air felt stiff and stagnant. Levi made it clear when he arrived back to the castle that he did not need to go to the infirmary for such a trivial injury. The captain was more than aware of the vast number of injured comrades they had. This expedition was starting to show that the gamble Erwin took may have been too costly in the end. They were down significantly in numbers from what he was surmised after briefing with Hange. She then immediately spied his limp and dragged the short man to the infirmary. After an inglorious battle with her making a big scene about him being hurt, Hange compromised on bringing him to the supply room to be treated. Hange started blabbering about the mission, but Levi wasn’t paying her any attention. No, his mind kept trailing back to that damned battle with the bitch titan. He often would over analyze every battle in which he lost his comrades, so all in all he over thought constantly. This time, however, his thoughts were not trained on how he could’ve saved his team. Instead, they were focused on that  _ feeling. _ That overwhelming feeling of power and strength.

Levi had been trying to get the thoughts of it out of his head but failed miserably. His mind drifted back to the feeling of having that energy pulse through his entire body. The intense drive to win, and even- much to his dismay- how good it felt to have that brat close to him. She was like an addictive beacon of power. He remembered how having her body pressed close to his and her nimble hands touching his caused surges of electricity to shoot through him. Levi wondered if she had felt the same thing. He knew she had to have felt it. While he wasn’t exactly on the same level of intelligence as Hange or Erwin, he was highly perceptive. Makes for a good trait when half your life was spent surviving in an underground of cons and thugs. He watched how her face morphed from one of determination to excitement. She had enjoyed the rush just as much as he did. He swore he could feel what she was feeling while they battled the female titan. Still, it was unclear to him exactly what  _ it _ was. 

“I mean wasn’t that the most amazing creature ever?” Hange said excitedly while turning her head to stare at Levi with wide eyes. 

“Tch. If by amazing, you mean deadly and destructive then sure.”

Hange’s eyes widened even more seemingly remembering that a vast amount of soldiers lost their lives. “Of course she’s that too. However, if we would be able to catch her, who knows what kind of discoveries it would bring. Humanity might actually have a chance. I’d say she’s by far the most interesting find of this mission.” 

“Yeah, one of many.” Levi muttered to himself. He briefly thought about telling Hange of his strange experience. If anyone was to have a guess, it would most certainly be the mangled mess babbling in front of him.

Even though Levi whispered his last statement, Hange must have picked up on what he said and made her way back over to Levi. Her eyes were bright as she excitedly asked, “What else did you see with the female titan?”

“I’m not talking about the giant bitch, four eyes.”

“Well, what happened Levi?” Hange said in a curious but genuine tone. She looked down and watched him from his sitting position as he debated on his answer.

Levi’s hesitation only made the scientist more excited. She was almost bouncing in place patiently awaiting his answer. Levi, however, began to debate on telling her what had occurred. If he did explain what happened, there would be a probable chance of her wanting to conduct some kind of experiment. His memory flashed to all the different ways she had tried to get Eren to transform. While most people would say that Hange is over the top and cruel with her experiments, Levi never found himself reciprocating the same feeling. He did believe that pain was the greatest motivator which had put off many people in return. How Hange ran her experiments was never a bother to him. Until now. There was no way in hell he was going to let her run any type of tests on him. She had previously tried to when he revealed a small piece of his family history to her on a particularly rough night after an expedition. He will never forget the headache that came about when she constantly asked questions he had no answer to about his bloodline. She was persistent up until she tried to “secretly” retrieve a blood sample of his while he was asleep. After she found herself with a pair of broken glass and a bloodied nose from a defensive, half awake Levi, she gave up on her questions.

“It’s nothing. Forget I said anything.” Levi said, casting his eyes downward.

Hange whined and pleaded with, “Oh come on! You can’t just say you found something interesting and then not tell me!”

As Hange’s whining continued, Levi felt a small pressure form in the back on his neck. The pressure continued to grow only for a second before turning into a tingling sensation. His surroundings started to sound muffled as he brought his hand to press against the back on his neck. The sensation continued till he began to feel something from within his chest. Levi felt  _ relieved. _ The feeling came barrelling in as if he had just saved a comrade from certain death. Yet, there was no deadly situation around. Just a pleading mess and himself. Levi sat up from his chair, carefully testing out his leg as he tried to head to the door. The last thing he wanted was to be in a room with Hange while the weird pressure continued to pound against his neck. He knew she would jump him in a second to see what was causing it. 

“Levi! You can’t get up and leave without telling me what you found out there!” Hange screamed as she pushed forward grabbing his wrist to prevent him from leaving.

He yanked his wrist away from her dingy grasp and said, “Save it for later. I need to go speak with Erwin.”

“I do too. Let’s walk together, and you can tell me all about your interesting find.” She said in a rushed voice. It was a great annoyance to Levi having Hange pound away for answers. 

Levi glared at her and said, “No, I need to speak with him in private, and you need to go bathe. You’re disgusting right now.”, his eyes trailing down the length of her filthy body

“Bathing can wait. I need to know what you were going to say.”, She pleaded

Just as he was about to slam the door in her face, it opened forcefully to reveal Moblit standing in it attempting to catch his breath. The assistant looked up from his position and said, “Oh good, you’re here too, Captain. Commander Erwin is requesting you both to meet with him in his office.”

Levi released an annoyed sigh as Hange jumped with happiness. The trio made their way down the stone hallways of the castle. Commotion could be heard in all directions as soldiers tried to find their way through the chaos. The sun was finally beginning to set on the awful day as light rays beamed through the open windows. It casted a beautiful shade of deep orange against the walls making the entire hallway glow. The pressure on the back on Levi’s neck was still ongoing as the feeling of relief subsided. Instead, it was replaced with a strong sense of happiness and excitement. Levi shook his head hoping to rid himself of these dreadful emotions. There was no reason he should feel so light with happiness after having lost his entire squad. Was he finally reaching a so-called “breaking point”? These emotions swirled inside him bringing forth long forgotten feelings of past times. He figured he had to be going insane. In an effort to figure out what was happening to him, Levi tried to zone in on the pressure behind his neck. As he walked down the hall, the voices of soldiers passing by died out to a silent hum. The conversation Hange was having with Moblit ceased to have sound. Instead, he began to pick up on what seemed to be a feminine voice.

Levi heard a few muttered words before Hange’s loud voice broke his trance yet again. “We’re here, Captain. Are you even paying attention?” Hange asked, waving her hand dramatically in front of Levi’s face.

When Levi’s focus came back into tune, he realized that they had made it to the outside of Erwin’s office. The tingling sensation in the back of his neck seemed to have quieted down to a low hum as he gave a scowl towards Hange. 

“I’m trying to figure out who is going to be in my new squad. Can’t exactly do that if I have to listen to you ramble about your stupid theories.” He lied quickly and calmly.

Hange smiled and rolled her eyes as she opened the door to the Commander’s office. Moblit quickly excused himself as Levi and Hange made their way into the room. The office was of decent size having multiple bookshelves line it’s large walls. A lounge chair with a wooden table sat off to the left where Hange ungracefully placed herself. In the middle of the room sat a simple desk that was decorated with scattered papers on top. The disorganized state of the papers irked Levi. As his annoyance of the papers left his mind, he felt a sense of confusion roll down his neck. These emotions felt foreign to him as if they had an entire other entity portraying them. Levi brushed off the odd feelings as he leaned his body against the walls facing in front of Hange. Behind the desk sat the Commander himself. Erwin’s eyes looked up to greet his comrades. He looked tired and almost defeated as his blonde hair fell forward while he resumed looking at a paper on his desk. 

“I’m glad that you could both join me here, and that you’re safe.” Erwin said in a warm voice. 

“Glad to be here, Commander!”, Hange said from her little nook in the corner.

Erwin gave her a small smile and casted his gaze over to where Levi was leaning. He looked back down to his papers and spoke in a quiet yet commanding voice, “ As I’m sure you are both well aware, we have lost much of our resources with this latest expedition.”, He looked back over to Levi, “ Including our entire elite squad except for Eren.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed as the commander continued his speech, “However, this expedition proved to hold valuable information that I believe is the closest we have to progressing humanity forward. This new titan shifter amongst us could very well show the way to ending the reign of titans if we are able to catch her.”

“And how exactly do you plan on catching her if we have no clue who she is?”, Levi asked in a cold voice.

Erwin let a small smile play across his lips as he brought his hands up to rest against his chin. He had a spark in his eyes that gave way to the twisting gears of his thoughts in his mind. Levi straightened himself against the wall as he watched Erwin collect the papers on his desk into a neat order.

“Because we figured out who she is.”, Erwin said strongly sitting up from his desk, papers still in his hands.

Levi’s eyes widened at the announcement as did Hange’s from across the room. How in the hell did they figure out who the bitch was without capturing her? Levi’s surprise quickly shifted to a deep resonating anger. His mind swarmed with all the images of the mass destruction the female titan wrecked upon the Survey Corps. Maybe now he could finally finish her off.

Hange’s loud, irritating voice radiated throughout the room as she nearly screamed, “How did you figure out who she is?”, She said as her gaze was transfixed on the tall man standing in the center.

“ A soldier by the name of Armin Arlert came to me once we returned and informed me of his experience with this new titan shifter.”, Erwin continued by saying, “He also ran by his theories on who it could have been. The boy was confident in his accusation, and after further details were displayed, I believe the boy is right in his assumptions.”

“So, you’re going off of what some soldier believes without any solid evidence?” Levi asked with a slight malice.

“From what I have been informed on by many different sources, Arlert possesses a highly intelligent mind that transcends past normal soldiers. While the only way to solidify his accusation is to capture the girl he talks of, he has given us a foot in the right direction. I am going to take another gamble and put my faith in him.” Erwin said confidently. His eyes met with Levi’s as he made his way over to where the short captain was standing.

Erwin pushed the pile of papers he was holding into Levi’s hands as he turned and made his way back to his desk. He collected another stack of papers as Levi glanced down at the pile he was now holding. He flicked through the pages as he saw that each one read out a different soldier's name along with their basic information. All were names he did not know  _ Kirschtein...Springer…Braus...Lenz _ , he continued to filter through as a few names became more familiar  _ Jaeger...Arlert...and- _

“What the hell is this, Erwin?” Levi asked angrily as his eyes flicked back to the last page he held.  _ Ackerman. _

“That would be the personal files of the new soldiers joining your elite squad, Levi”, Erwin said coolly.

Anger surged through Levi as he took in the information. Since he had been promoted to captain, he had hand picked every soldier who joined his squad. He never picked lightly, either. Levi knew in order to be on his squad each soldier would have to possess a certain kind of skill and resolve that would allow for them to prevail during intense battles. Now, however, he was being handed a group whom he had no clue of the skills each had. Well, except for Jaeger and the obsessive brat. If seeing her name on the paper was any indication of his new squad, he knew he was in for a hard time.

“The fuck you mean my new squad? I have always hand picked who joined me, and I am not having,” His eyes looked down at the papers, “ these  _ children _ on my team.” Levi bit out. 

When he scanned through the pages, he took note of how each soldier had just recently graduated from the 104th Cadet Corps. That would make most of them around 19-21 years old. Basically preschoolers in Levi’s eyes. He gritted his teeth as his eyes bored into Erwin’s crystal blue ones. The commander looked indifferent as always possessing a stern presence in the room. 

“They’re not children, Levi. They are skilled soldiers who have proven themselves on this latest expedition. I’m choosing your new squad because as fate would have it, we have lost a majority of our soldiers. Each one, I believe, will provide a valuable asset to you and the Survey Corps.” Erwin rebutted as he walked to where Hange had placed herself, handing her a few sheets.

Erwin made his way over to Levi and spoke as he handed him more papers, “These files are information about the presumed titan shifter, Annie Leonhart.”, Levi nearly growled as he snatched the papers from Erwin’s hands. As Levi’s eyes scanned the new information, he noticed that this apparent shifter was also in the same Cadet Corps class as his new team.

Erwin cleared his throat as he spoke, “There are not many records on the girl as she claims that she is from a village that was destroyed five years ago. I believe it is in our best interest at this time to find out as much information as we can. I already plan on questioning the scouts who were in the same class as her later on this evening.”

“Why not apprehend her now and get this shit over with? If it’s her, then we have her in our custody. If it’s not her, then she can go back to be a kiss up to the king.” Levi said once he finished reading her file. 

This girl was in the top of her class, and also the only one to have joined the Military Police. Erwin was right when he said there was little to no information on her background. If she really wanted to, this girl seemed like she could stop existing at any point, and no one would notice. Levi was finding it hard to believe that such an insignificant person could be a 14 meter giantess. Then again, he still found it hard to believe that Jaeger could transform into his titan with his puny form. It felt like the world was changing every millisecond as there were new developments coming forth left and right. Levi gave an angry huff as he leaned his head back against the wall. He found that the pressure in his neck had subsided and was no longer humming. The noise of the world was back to its loud tune. What a pity. Levi rather liked the muffled silence that came with the unknown pressure.

“If we apprehend her now, it could lead to a full on battle. At this moment, we can’t afford to lose anymore scouts. Plus, this will give us the chance to have an advantage over her. We need to find out any information no matter how minuscule it may seem.”, Erwin said as he made his way back to his desk and sat down in the wooden chair.

“Well, when I was helping Levi earlier, he had mentioned he found something, but he won’t say what it was.” Hange said to Erwin as a wicked grin graced her face. 

Levi’s eyes narrowed down at the brunette as another wave of anger bubbled up inside of him. This was just the cherry on top on his fucking day. First, he has to go on an expedition with an inexperienced titan shifter who is way too eager to kill titans. Then, he finds his entire elite squad dead with their bodies littering the floor like flies. Next, he had to deal with an aggressive, devoted brat who made him injured all while experiencing the ignition of a power he’d never felt before. What made that situation worse was the fact that the trigger-happy girl was most likely a key component to the power that was rushing through him. Levi was also zoning out and feeling emotions he would never normally feel with an annoying pressure pounding against his neck. Then, Levi gets assigned a group of rookies for his new squad that includes the irritating Ackerman girl. Now, he was about to have to explain the odd phenomenon to Erwin since Hange couldn’t hold her fucking tongue. Great. Just a great day.

“Did you just tattle on me?”, Levi said in an infuriated voice glaring across the ways of the room. He pushed himself off the wall and stormed over to Hange but stopped midway due to Erwin’s voice breaking through.

“Levi.”, He said silently telling him to hold off on strangling Hange, “What did you find?” He finished. 

Levi gave Hange, who was huddled down in her seat with her hands above her messy hair, one more glare before saying, “Like I told her, it doesn’t matter. It had nothing to do with the titan, and that’s the information you need, right?”

Erwin gave a slight nod before saying, “Still, any discovery made whether it relates to the titan or not could be potentially valuable in times like these.”

Levi hated to admit it, but the commander was right. Damnit, he was always right. However, this new discovery was still a foreign concept even to Levi. Hell, for all he knew, it could be all in his head with no connection to the Ackerman girl whatsoever. Yet, there was this feeling deep within his soul that told him that wasn’t the case. Not only that, but Levi’s intuition had always been sharp and refined. Telling Hange and Erwin about this could prove to be beneficial in the long run, but Levi was for once extremely tired. His body ached in ways he hadn’t felt for years. His mind was fuzzy from lack of sleep, and all he wanted was to bathe and go to bed. The very idea of a warm bath made him relax.

“It was nothing.”, He bit out, “I just felt..I don’t know, I guess a rush of adrenaline that made me feel more powerful than normal. It’s been one hell of a day for everyone, I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt that.” He rushed out.

“Oh, do you think this has anything to do with your bloodline?” Hange asked excitedly as she stared wide eyed at Levi. “You know I was doing research on it, and I found some old documents that stated that the Ackerman clan was able to produce abilities far beyond the capabilities of normal humans. Maybe this was one of those times!” She exclaimed with a frenzied look.

Truth be told, Levi thought very little of the supposed strength Ackermans apparently had. For him, he had to battle his way through life which he believed gave him his current strength. Sure he was strong, but there were others who had similar strengths like Miche or Erwin. No, Levi was overthinking and desperately needed to get some rest. The whole day was a shit show from the start, and he wasn’t going to end it with Hange hounding away for answers he couldn’t give. He glanced up to see Erwin staring at him, awaiting his answer.

“Yeah, maybe it was that. Doesn’t matter cause that bitch is still out there and could attack at any moment. I say we focus on her instead of me.” Levi said in a monotone voice all while keeping eye contact with the blonde man in front of him.

“Wait, wasn’t Mikasa Ackerman with you while you fought the female titan? Did you happen to see if she experienced anything?” Hange inquired as she frantically searched for pencil and paper. 

Levi rolled his eyes as he said, “Yeah, the brat was with me, but I couldn’t see if she felt anything because I was too busy saving her ass. By the way,” He said while looking back to Erwin, “I want her off my squad. She showed extreme insubordination out on the field and carelessly risked her life. I won’t take anymore bullshit from her.”

“The decision is not up to you, Levi. That girl is worth more than a hundred soldiers and is a vital asset to us. Besides, she is going to be under your command, so if she were to act out again, you can punish her how you see fit.” Erwin said calmly.

Levi let a grimace fall upon his face. He didn’t want to deal with her at all. Now, he was going to have to put up with her snarky remarks and fiery personality during training and expeditions. Although, it did bring Levi slight pleasure at the idea of being able to dish out punishment to her. She seems to think herself untouchable. The next time that brat decides to act out, Levi made it a goal to put her in her place. Maybe he would mess with Jaeger to get back at her. That always seemed to set her off. Levi sighed as he glanced down at the papers in his hands. He wondered briefly if these kids knew what they were assigned to. Slowly, morbid thoughts of their deaths came filtering into Levi’s mind. God, he hated that they were so young. They haven’t been able to live their lives yet, and it seemed as though Erwin just signed their death certificate. He would meet their faces tomorrow. Their bright, eager faces that would shine with excitement to prove their skills to him. Then, new tragedies would make an ugly appearance, and they’d find themselves six feet under.

“Ugh, so you’re telling me nothing happened with her? Not even a stronger strike to a titan or look in her eyes?” Hange questioned desperately while staring deep into Levi’s eyes.

Levi shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and lied, “No, like I said I didn’t notice much when I was out trying to make sure her and Jaeger come back alive.”

There was a small flick in Hange’s eyes. For the briefest moment, it seemed as though she saw right through his lie. However, she blinked and her gaze turned to one of disappointment. After adjusting her glasses, she dramatically sighed and muttered a silent “Okay” as she laid her body out on her seat. Levi silently thanked whatever deity was out there for her silence. After a few more minutes of debriefing, Erwin finally released the two of them for the night. As they walked out the door, Hange was a jittery mess, babbling yet again about her theories. Levi rolled his eyes at her and made the walk to his private room. One of the perks of being a captain is having private quarters with a private bathroom. He entered his impeccably clean room and began to undress for the night, starting with removing his cravat. After carefully placing it on his dresser, he entered into his bathroom and started to run a bath. He watched as steam rose heavily above the water while he finished removing the rest of his clothing. Levi stepped into the sizzling bath and released a pent up groan of pleasure from the contact. He could feel the tightness in his muscles begin to loosen as the precious heat enveloped him. He relished in the feeling of finally becoming clean after the arduous day. There wasn’t much that Levi appreciated in his life. After all, his life has been one shit show after the next. However, a warm bath provided him enough satisfaction that at least for one night, he could sleep without much thought

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Can I just say how happy I am that people are actually liking my fic:) I appreciate y’all so much!! I’m gonna try to be more regular with updating, the holidays really got my personal life messed up. Also I apologize for no Mikasa in this chapter, but I promise we’ll be seeing our badass queen in the next installment:)


	4. Chapter 4

Golden rays of light filtered through the small gap in the curtain as dawn broke through. The sun was lifting up from its slumber as Mikasa softly stirred from a deep sleep. Her dreams were filled with short glimpses of horrific events that seemed to get worse as the scenes changed. The brutal death of her parents trying to protect her. The screams of citizens running for their lives from the onslaught of titans invading. Her screams of agony watching Eren getting eaten right before her eyes. Yet, in between these nightmares, Mikasa was comforted by loving memories from her time as a child. She saw herself as a young girl picking vegetables with her mother in their family garden. She felt the light cling of sweat to her forehead from playing with Eren and Armin in the streets of the city. She felt the swell of pride from within her after being named top of her class. These memories kept her from screaming out in the middle of the night.

As Mikasa began to rise from her bed, she gave herself time to release a long needed stretch, reaching her arms above her head and giving a squeeze. She sat up right and looked to her left as her messy hair fell against her shoulders. In the corner of her new dorm, a thin-framed bed sat alongside the stone wall holding her new roommate. Snoring from underneath her covers, Sasha Braus laid peaceful as ever with her mouth wide open blissfully unaware of the small amount of drool coming from the side of her mouth. As sleep began to wear off of her mind, the memories of how Sasha became her roommate came barreling. In fact, the memories of the entire day pushed through Mikasa’s mind like cannon fire.

She had been sitting with Eren in a closed off room from within the castle. While the scouts have been patient in trusting Eren’s powers, they were still weary when it came to how he transformed. In order to put the injured out of potential harm's way, they had placed Eren in his own room. Cold air surrounded Mikasa as she watched the medical examiner do a thorough check up on the salvia-covered boy in front of her. Mikasa kept steady watch of the rise and fall of Eren’s chest while the doctor began to wipe the wetness away from his face. His titan lines were shrinking in size, now only being an inch long from his closed eyes. Once the doctor was done with her examination, she had told Mikasa that his titan regeneration had healed most of his wounds. However, the physician was not sure when he would wake up from his comatose state. It was now a waiting game.

As the doctor left the room, Mikasa made her way to the edge of the cot Eren was in. Her dark eyes never left his chest as she pushed his body over a little bit to sit herself next to him. Tears began to sting the rim of her eyes while she grabbed onto his hand. It was limp in hers ,yet it gave her the most comfort. Now that her adrenaline was running out, Mikasa felt utterly exhausted. The strength she had felt pulsing through her prior in the day had since turned into a pounding headache. It pushed against her temples all the way to the back of her nape. She hadn’t realized how intense the migraine was as she literally felt it humming against her. Mikasa briefly thought about going to one of the doctors outside the room for a tonic to help ease her pain. Very rarely did Mikasa seek help for herself, however, she felt she was of no use keeping Eren safe if she was not at the top of her game. Eren’s hand was warm against her skin as she shook the thought from her mind. The best place she could be at the moment is right next to the person she cared for the most.

Mikasa felt a tiny smile pull at her lips as her gaze set upon Eren’s unconscious face. His dark brown hair was no longer plastered against his forehead as smaller locks became loose around the pillow. One of the locks in particular was still stuck against his cheek making Mikasa lean forward and push it out of the way. Her fingers grazed along the smooth plane of his face while she tucked the piece behind his ear. Her heart tightened at the action as she imagined what it would’ve been like to touch his face while he was awake. Her feelings for the boy in front of her were muddled even to herself. On one hand, she felt the friendship they had was a beautifully tragic one that made them both strong in different ways. She would never want to run the risk of losing that special bond she shared with him along with Armin. However, she couldn’t deny that she fantasized of him holding her hand as they walked along the streets of the cities or even feeling the soft graze of his lips on hers in secrecy after a rough training session. She sighed as she tried to change the scenery in her mind. She felt like a teenage girl pining after Eren like this. Now at the age of 20, it was starting to feel more childish as time went on. Still, she secretly hoped for the day that his green eyes would shine the same way hers did everytime she looked at him.

“M-Mikasa...where am I?” Eren said with his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes were fluttering open trying to adjust to light in the room.

“Eren! Are you okay? How do you feel?” Mikasa shrieked as she leaned over him hovering inches from his face. 

He grimaced as she realized she had been squeezing his hand tightly in hers. He pulled away roughly and pushed himself up forcing her to sit back on the cot. He rubbed his head, looking at her with an annoyed look as he scanned the room they were in. Mikasa could care less though. A hot wave of relief flooded through making her heart pound against her chest. Eren was okay. She had done it; she had successfully brought him back alive. Of course she couldn’t have done it without the help of the short captain, but she wasn’t going to dwell on that at the moment. Tears started streaming down her face as she smiled at him. His emerald eyes met with her grey ones as life began to reawaken in them.

“Did we catch her? Please tell me we caught her, Mikasa.” He said with anger rising in his voice.

Mikasa looked down to the floor as she adjusted the red scarf around her neck, “We weren’t able to catch her, Eren...we had to let her go to save you.”

“What! Are you kidding me?” He screamed continuing with, “You should’ve put her as a number priority, not me! Do you even realize how many people she murdered like flies?” 

His chest was heaving with heavy breaths as his panic increased. Mikasa could see the pain that was evident on his face as he remembered all the hopeless death that surrounded him during the mission. She looked up, meeting his eyes and took his hand in hers in a desperate attempt to calm him down.

“Eren, listen to me. I know things look bad from your perspective, but we couldn’t run the chance of losing you. You’re too important to this cause.” Mikasa said calmly.

_ Too important to me. _

Mikasa continued with, “Commander Erwin took a big gamble apparently, but even he knows how vital you are. Captain Levi and I were not prepared to be able to capture her. Hell, she could’ve killed you if that was our goal. I wasn’t going to let that take place.” She finished in one breath.

As Eren took in the information, the frowns marking his features began to soften as he looked down at their hands. His breathing had evened to a rhythmic pattern and gave her a small squeeze as he ran his other hand through his hair. Mikasa’s heart soared at the simple action, filling her up with happiness. She felt lucky that her scarf was covering her mouth as a tiny smile played at her lips.

“I appreciate the effort, Mikasa, but I’m not your little brother or kid; you can't keep risking yourself like that. It’s not healthy.” Eren said as he pulled his hand out of hers.

Mikasa was hurt by his words but wasn’t given enough time to dwell on it as Armin and Jean burst through the door to the room. A brief flare of annoyance rolled through her although it felt almost foreign. She didn’t think she was annoyed at the intrusion, yet she felt it anyways. Setting the confusion aside, she looked over and saw that Armin was panting heavily having been bent over with his hands on his knees. Jean was in a better condition but still looked out of breath when he was looking between Mikasa and Eren. His eyes were filled with concern as they raked over Mikasa seeming to check for any injuries on her. Armin finally raised his blonde head with wide eyes.

“Eren! You’re okay!” He said in a somewhat loud but relieved voice. 

Jean looked to the titan shifter, an air of nonchalance surrounding him, as he said in a bored voice, “Please, it would take the end of the world for this suicidal maniac to get hurt.”

Ignoring Jean’s comment, Eren ran up to Armin with a smile on his face, “Armin! I was so worried about you. The last I heard, your whole flank was killed.”

“Yeah, they were.” Armin said grimly, straightening himself up as he continued with, “Listen, there is something I need to let you guys in on. I’ve already discussed this with the Commander, but I can’t keep you guys in the dark.”

Mikasa moved herself over to where Eren was standing with Armin. She looked over at Jean and saw in his eyes an air of uncomfortableness. A beat of worry started coursing through her as she listened in on what Armin was saying.

Taking a deep breath Armin explained, “ I think I know who the female titan is.”

“What? What do you mean you know who she is? Mikasa just told me that she wasn’t able to be captured!” Eren’s loud voice rang out within the confined space.

“She wasn’t. At the time, it didn’t make sense to me, but now the pieces are falling in line. However, I need to preface by saying this is all just a speculation. I don’t exactly have the concrete evidence I need just yet in order to make an astute claim. Eren, Mikasa, I believe that the female titan is...Annie. Annie Leonhart.”, He said in what seemed to be an almost disappointed tone.

“Wait, wait, wait. You mean the Annie we trained with? How the hell could it be her? She’s a damn MP for crying out loud!” Eren asked with confusion and anger. 

“Like I said, it didn’t make sense, but when I was out in the field with Jean and Reiner, she did something that made me question her. On a hunch, I used your ‘suicidal maniac’ nickname in order to test a theory before she crushed Jean.”, Armin explained while glancing at Jean who winced at the memory. He continued with, “It was then that she stopped from crushing him and was interested in what I had to say. She nearly killed Reiner as well in which afterwards she ran to the center rank which is where you were, Eren.”

“Okay, but just because you used some stupid nickname doesn’t mean it’s Annie!”

“I know that. Then, there is the fact that when all cadets had their gear checked for the titan subject killings, she...she wasn’t using her gear. She was using Marco’s. I knew this because I had spent countless hours helping Marco fix his gear.” Armin stated sadly. Jean was aggravated now with a deep glare setting in his eyes.

Mikasa took a second to take in all of the information. Piece by piece the puzzle was starting to show it’s picture. Her thoughts flashed back to the altercation she had with the giant in the forest. The way she fought, the cold,calculated moves tearing through the ranks had been the exact ones she had seen Annie use before during training. Then, there was the fact that the titan did bear a striking resemblance to Leonhart. Still, Mikasa found it hard to believe that the antisocial girl would be the cause of all the destruction. How could she kill so effortlessly without a single thought? Hot rage flowed through Mikasa as she realized that the enemy, who had caused her so much pain, was right under their noses the entire time.

Eren’s face was incredulous as he backed away from Armin and started pacing the room with his hands on his head.

“No..We can’t be like this. I mean come on! Accusing a fellow comrade of something like this? It’s madness.”, said the titan shifter with a desperate look.

Armin’s eyes shifted downward like he was deeply hurt as he said, “Trust me, I of all people don’t want to believe this, but I can’t ignore the evidence. We have to assume at this moment that Annie is the female titan and go on from there.”

A silent tension built up in the room as everyone stood around. The information was heavy on the group’s mind, while Eren made his way back and forth between the room. Jean took up leaning against the wall of the cot as Mikasa sat down on the bed with Armin. The silence built up as the gravity of the situation was laid bare before them all.

Eren finally stopped his incessant pacing and looked at Mikasa and Armin with the same deadly stare he has when he talks about killing titans as he spoke, “Well, then what are we waiting for? Let’s find her and make her pay for what she’s done. I'll take her down by myself if I have to.”

Jean looked towards Eren, holding up a hand, and said, “Hold it there, hot-head. There’s some more news. After Armin was done debriefing the Commander, he took us aside to let us know our new assignment.”, He looked over to Mikasa briefly as he continued with, “You, me, Mikasa, Armin, Sasha, Connie, and Christa will be joining the new elite squad.”

The news hit Mikasa in an instant as her own annoyance finally fell through her. The last thing she wanted at this time was to be around the captain anymore than she needed. Now, she was stuck as his subordinate on his new team which usually spells out death for most who join. Her heart started beating quicker as she realized all of her friends would be on the squad as well. Fear gripped her tight at the revelation as she desperately looked at Armin hoping it was some kind of mistake. All she found was his eyes still casted downwarded in a wounded expression. She shook her head slightly in disbelief. Still, even with the bad news, she could at least keep a closer eye on Eren without fear of being separated like they were before.

Mikasa stood up from her dorm bed as she shook the memory of yesterday away. Now, she found herself getting ready for her first day of training with her new squad. She grabbed a bundle of clothing from her dresser as she made her way to their shared bathroom with her nightgown bellowing around her feet. Although she was now able to protect Eren in closer range, it didn’t set aside the fact that the shorty was now her commanding captain. In fact, it irked her till no end. Mikasa violently slipped on her jacket as she stared at her reflection. She looked tired, with slight eye bags and bruising from yesterday’s event. Mikasa wrapped her crimson scarf around her pale neck, tightening it securely around her. It was warm and soft easing her annoyance away. 

* * *

The mess hall was loud and rambunctious with soldiers sitting and eating with their comrades. Hange happily made her way over to a table off in the corner where Levi and Erwin had situated themselves. Erwin was shuffling through a stack of papers with a small plate of food off to the side of him. Levi was sitting in silence, having only a cup of tea with him. As Hange made her way over, Levi let out a disgruntled noise sensing her presence. 

“Can’t you sit somewhere else, four-eyes? You’ll ruin my breakfast with your loud mouth.”, Levi said.

“Awe, come on don’t be like that, Levi! I’d hardly call a cup of tea breakfast. Maybe if you ate a bit more, you’d grow big and strong. It’s basic biology.” Hange quipped as she started shoveling her breakfast in her mouth.

“Tch. Shut up, Hange. I’m already strong.”, Levi rebutted.

Hange giggled as she saw Erwin look up briefly from his papers to give her a welcoming smile. Many voices were heard all around the mess hall with an anxious tension hanging overhead. It was soon common knowledge that the female titan appeared to be from within the military ranks. Everyone was seemingly keeping an eye out for any odd behavior. Behind from where Hange sat was a table filled with the new members of the elite squad. Excited whispers could be heard from the soldiers as they discussed their new promotion. However, something stuck out in their conversation that had Hange itching with excitement. 

“Mikasa, I really think you see stop by the infirmary and pick up a tonic. Headaches like that aren’t good, and if you wanna be ready for training, you need to be alert and well.”, Armin’s concerned voice came through.

“Armin, I already told you I’m fine. It was a hard day for everyone. I think I may have just overexerted myself.”

“Still, after having battled the female titan in the way you described, I’m surprised you’re not in some sort of sleep coma. I think any regular person would have passed out from exhaustion after doing what you did.” Armin said.

Jean responded to Armin’s comment with, “Well, we all know Mikasa isn’t just some regular person. I mean, come on, she’s the strongest one out of all of us.”, he finished saying a slight redness tinging his cheeks.

“That’s not true. I just had a lot going on at the moment, and I had a set goal.” Mikasa said, poking at her food.

“I know, I know, but what about the weird rush you felt? I know I get adrenaline rushes sometimes, but nothing with enough strength to take on an intelligent titan.” Armin pointed out.

At that moment, Eren interjected with, “Leave her alone, Armin. If she says she’s fine, I’m sure she’s fine. Can we all just focus on training for today?”

Mikasa pulled up her scarf and stopped prodding her food. She sat back and listened to her friends talk about their excitement with training today. She hated to admit it, but a small part of her was excited to be training again. The blood-pumping workouts and rough regiments gave her something to look forward to. Training always helped take her mind off of things. At least now she would have a chance at a little reprieve.

The group made their way outside to the back of the castle, where a makeshift training ground was being put in place. They stood side-by-side to each other with their clutched hand over their hearts awaiting their captain. The wind circled around and sunlight shined brightly through the clouds. After two minutes of waiting, the captain finally arrived. He was out of his usual attire, now being dressed in dark pants and a long-sleeved gray shirt. It was odd seeing him dressed so casually, reminding Mikasa that he was in fact human and not an angry troll. He stood in front of the line of his new soldiers, reciprocating the salute they held.

“My name is Captain Levi, as most of you know, and you all have been assigned to my squad. Normally, I pick my own team, but due to recent events, I am stuck with you lot. Today I want to see if there was a reason Commander Erwin made it a point to assign you to me. We’re doing hand-to hand combat. Springer, you’re up first.”, The captain announced leaving Connie shaking in his spot. 

Mikasa watched as the captain and a jittery Connie made their way to a dirt patch in front of them. Everyone in line nervously glanced around as Connie got into a fighting stance. He was shaking so bad, he could barely keep his hands still in the air. Levi stood in front of him in a relaxed position all while giving Connie a nod to go forth. Taking a deep breath, Connie raised his fist in the air and pushed forward towards the Captain. Levi caught his hand in an instant, grabbing his wrist and throwing him over like a sack of potatoes. Before Connie could move, the Captain flipped him on his back and held his arm in an angle against his back. Connie let out a small cry of pain while everyone watched wide-eyed at the short Captain’s fast movements. Not a second later, Levi placed his knee onto Connie’s lower back, effectively pinning him all while shoving his face in the dirt. After pressing him down for a few more seconds, Levi released his hold on the clean shaven boy and nodded to himself.

“Alright, Braus is up next.” He said, looking to the line ahead of him.

One by one, each of the scouts had their asses handed to them on a silver platter as the captain made quick work of them. They each fell back into line once their torturous training was completed. All had a dejected look on their faces while they watched the captain battle with Eren. Mikasa had to give it to Eren, he always fought with all his heart as she saw him swinging viciously at Levi. However, much to Mikasa’s dismay, the captain was dodging his offenses easily, never breaking a single sweat. After a swift kick to the groin, Eren was brought to his knees with Levi standing over him victoriously. Mikasa was already fuming but held herself together so as to not cause a scene. However, when the captain turned to meet her livid gaze and sent a hard punch to Eren’s face, her resolve loosened ever so slightly. She hadn’t gone up yet against him, so it was now her new goal to bring the arrogant bastard down.

“Ackerman, you’re up.”, Levi said in a monotone voice.

Mikasa felt her heart rate begin to speed up as she made her way over to him. She was itching for a chance to finally fight with him without having to hold back. He did say how he wanted to see exactly why Erwin chose them to be on his squad. Now was her time to shine and prove her strength. Levi’s eyes locked with hers as he got into an actual fighting stance unlike how he was with the other cadets.

_ Good,  _ She thought to herself,  _ At least he knows what he just got himself into. _

Mikasa set up her stance and waited for the signal to begin. Levi narrowed his eyes which held a similar gleam in them as hers. She realized that he was wanting this just as bad as herself. The slight nod of his head was all she needed to charge herself toward him. Mikasa attempted a false move by making it seem like she was going to hit him with her hands, but instead maneuvered her body to where she could sweep at his legs. However, he must have seen through her plan as he turned off to the side making her miss her target. As she realized her mistake, his hand grabbed at the back of her neck and brought her down hard to the ground.

The second his hand touched her skin, an electric pulse ran through her body. Suddenly, the world outside their fight held little meaning. Noise was cancelled out as she rolled away from his tight grasp on her. Her blood was pumping fast as she saw him advancing on her. Levi shot out to strike at her midsection, but as he did so, she caught his wrist and pulled him into her to jab into his chest with her elbow. He released a huff as her elbow made contact with him. Her small victory was short lived as he gripped her waist and threw her onto her back. Mikasa lost her breath as her body slammed into the hard ground. The air was humming loud around her. She felt like a live wire as he straddled her and sent his fist reeling against her cheek, Her head snapped to the side, and she let out a grunt of pain from the hit. Levi assaulted her yet again sending another jab to her stomach. Her body lurched forward from the pain making her face inches from the captain’s. 

Breathing heavily and threading his finger through her thick hair gripping tightly, Levi whispered to her, “A girl worth a hundred soldiers, Huh? Pathetic.”

Anger surged through her like lightning after hearing his words causing her to snap her head forward. The collision of their heads crashing together made him release his grasp on her head. Mikasa was able to push off with her legs and roll the captain off of her and threw her hands into his face. She released a growl of frustration as she sent more hits at his head then grabbing his hair and pushing him onto his stomach. He grunted from the sudden change and attempted to right his position, but Mikasa drove her knee into his back, pinning him into the ground. Her heart was now racing as an odd openness to the air around her made her feel off. Mikasa’s muscles were tense as she tried to secure his arms behind him, but his strength was true to its name as he was able to yank her off him. Once off, Mikasa stood up quickly as the captain came at her forcefully, eyes focused. As they fought, she had that odd feeling return to her. That strong force of power, like lightning in her veins, overtaking her. Only this time, her mind felt opened. It was like she felt everyone around her only she came to realize she was feeling  _ him. _

The realization came right as his fist collided under her jaw. Mikasa could feel the pump of intense focus rolling off of the captain. She felt the enjoyment he was having at sparring with her. It surrounded her mind clouding her thoughts. For a moment, she felt as though they were one being. As if she were no longer herself, and he was no longer himself. They felt  _ connected. _ Horrified at this new discovery, she increased the effort in which she was fighting. Her mind now buzzing with added thoughts and power was effective in defending herself against the quick assaults Levi was throwing at her. When she was attempting to get him into a choke hold, her eyes locked onto his steely blue ones. The look in them sent a strong sensation down her body as they held such thrill within them. He was feeling what she was experiencing, and it excited her in a way she couldn’t describe. It almost felt like the equality she had been searching for most her life.

As the two continued their battle, the other cadets began to worry about the pair in front of them. They watched for ten minutes as the duo tore into each other with the same primal force as titans. Worried glances were thrown around when Connie decided to clear his throat in an attempt to get their attention. When that didn’t work, the cadets decided to break formation and gather around each other. Mikasa and the captain paid no attention to the broken formation as they continued to brawl.

Jean was the first to speak saying, “Um, do you guys think we should intervene? They’ve been going at it for a while now.”

“No, we’ll die if we try to get in between those two right now!” Sasha said, scared and frightened.

Armin’s meek voice rose up exclaiming, “If we don’t do anything, they’ll kill each other!”, he looked over, watching the pair continue their battle.

“Oh come on you guys, they won't kill each other. Stop being dramatic. I’ll go stop them.”, Eren said annoyed.

He made his way over to where the duo were fighting. He waved his hand around trying to catch Mikasa’s attention, but she paid him no mind. More irritation ran through him as he was ignored. Usually, she stops whatever she is doing to tend to him. The pair were back on the ground now except Mikasa was on top of Levi this time. She had him pinned beneath her and was holding him down by pushing her forearm underneath his neck. Eren stood behind Mikasa trying to shake her out of her fighting induced trance.

“Hey, guys… Come on, it's time to stop fighting, the other cadets are getting wor-“ Eren’s sentence was cut short due to Mikasa’s elbow accidentally ramming into his nose, breaking it instantly.

“Ah, what the fuck, Mikasa!” Eren yelled out, holding his hands over his bloodied nose and backing away from the fight.

Hearing her name, Mikasa’s head snapped to where Eren was standing as she realized what happened. She reached out her hand and half yelled, “Eren! Are you-“, but was stopped as the captain grabbed at her hair, yanking her back down to the fight. Her attention was back on the short leader, and their violent punches as Eren was a forgotten thought now. Eren made his way back over to the group, grumbling the entire time over his broken nose.

“Wow, for once, Mikasa doesn’t give a shit that you’re hurt, Eren. Ha!”, Jean laughed at the boy who was now in front of him.

Rage flooded through Eren as he grabbed at Jean’s shirt collar, screaming “Shut up! It’s not like she ever even notices when you’re around, Horseface!” He mocked.

Jean narrowed his eyes, yet smiled as he said, “I would punch your annoying face for that, but it seems like Mikasa already took care of that for me.”

As Eren lunged at Jean for his comment, Armin was now faced with breaking up two fights for both of his friends. He silently cursed the fact that his best friends were ticking time bombs when it came to their temper. Although, he was more or less worried about how easily Mikasa was able to lose her disposition so quickly. He knew she wasn’t fond of Captain Levi, but as he gazed at her now attempting to drive her knee into Levi’s stomach, Armin questioned how deep that anger went. Mikasa typically only lost her temper when it came to either him or Eren being in danger. Now, Eren was hurt and bleeding because of her, and she couldn’t seem to give a damn about him. Armin’s mind was beginning to wander as the worry for his dear friend increased. While lost in his thoughts, Armin saw section commander Hange emerge from the castle doors and joyfully made her way over to where the cadets were huddled. Light beamed off her glasses as she turned her head to observe the fight between Mikasa and Levi. She watched them with genuine curiosity as she put a hand on Armin’s shoulder, jolting him from his thoughts.

“Amazing sight to see, huh?” Hange said excitedly, looking down to Armin with a smile on her face.

“It sure is something to see.” Armin said nervously as he watched Levi land a hard blow to Mikasa's chest. He winced at the sound it made when Levi’s fist hit her skin.

Hange nodded her head quickly while muttering, “Never thought I’d see the day where two Ackermans fought each other. Heh, first humans turning into titans, now this!”

At first, Armin didn’t catch what Hange had just said to him. It felt like his mind couldn’t fit the pieces together at her statement. Two Ackermans? Mikasa was the only person he knew to have that surname. However, his ever-quick mind fit together the odd picture.

Turning his head to look at the section commander, Armin asked quietly, “What do you mean two Ackermans?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Hange said innocently with a wicked smile as she continued with, “I guess the captain refuses to introduce himself any differently than when he did when I first met him. Well, anyways, Levi shares the same surname as your friend, Mikasa.”

“Wait, does that mean they’re related?” Armin exclaimed in a scared fashion.

“Related? Oh no, they just share the same name, nothing more. However, I do have my own special theories on their family’s history,” Hange said enthusiastically.

Armin was taken aback by the revelation as he timidly asked the brunette, “What kind of theories?”

Hange’s eyes widened with excitement, “You really want to know my theories?”

Right before Armin could answer, a loud yell was heard from the dirt patch where the vicious duo were still battling it out. Armin saw that Mikasa was now laying on her stomach with her hands pinned behind her back by the captain. He held a wild look in his eyes as he pressed his chest against Mikasa’s back to hold her in place. His legs were on either side of her body, leaving her with no way to escape his trap. The captain leaned his head down to Mikasa’s ear and whispered something to her Armin could not hear. Mikasa’s face was shocked by whatever Levi had said to her. The other cadets began to gather back in line once it was clear the fight was coming to an end. Armin spied Eren within the line with a few new bruises decorating his face. He had a furious look in his eyes when he looked to where the captain had Mikasa pinned down. Eren grimaced as he watched the captain continue to whisper in her ear. Armin straightens himself up, holding a proper posture as the captain rose from his position.

Mikasa’s body stayed on the ground while the captain made his way over to his line of new soldiers. His hand rose to his face to wipe away the blood running down from his lip. Overall, he had several cuts and bruises lining his body along with dirt caked across his clothes and body. Disgruntled by his disgusting disposition, he decided he had enough with training his new squad for the day.

“Tomorrow’s training begins at dawn. Anyone who is late will be stuck with stable duties for a month along with a week of latrine duties. Before you eat today, I want each of your quarters to be spotless. I will be checking. No one will get to eat till I am satisfied with your work. Dismissed.” Levi said to the group in front of him.

Sasha seemed to be especially worried about his statement as everyone in line slammed their hands against hearts while shouting, “Sir!”.

Nodding to himself, Levi gave one last glance towards where Mikasa laid as she lifted her head from the ground. Their eyes made contact for the last time that day as Mikasa felt that lightning feeling strike through her body one last time. She was breathing erratically all while pushing herself up into a sitting position. Anger, confusion, and adrenaline coursed through making her dizzy with the onslaught of it all. The humming sensation in the back of her neck continued to pulse while outside noise slowly became louder. Her bearings became clearer as her eyes adjusted to see emerald green ones staring right at her. Eren’s face was contorted with annoyance and worry as he grabbed her arm to help Mikasa to her feet.

“Come on, Mikasa. We got to go clean or the captain wont let us eat.” He grumbled seemingly to himself. He wouldn’t meet her gaze as they headed over to where Armin was standing.

While they made their way over, Mikasa kept sending Eren glancing only for him to keep looking forward. A deep worry set in her stomach as they reached Armin who was now standing by the entrance of the castle. Armin seemed to be in the same anxious state as herself as he gave a quick smile to them.

“Hey Mikasa, how are you feeling?” Armin said softly yet concerned.

“I feel fine. Just wish I had more time to show that shorty who is really stronger.”

Armin giggled nervously as he said, “Well, you guys were fighting for a long time. I think it’s good that you both were able to let off a little steam.”

As he finished his statement, he casted his eyes downwards in the way he does whenever there is bad news about. Armin had always had the habit of doing so ever since they were little kids. Mikasa knew him well enough to know that something was up. However, after her beat down with Levi, she didn’t feel the inclination to ask what he was so jittery about. Plus, Armin always seemed to be a nervous mess. With the newfound news of Annie, and being put on a new squad, Mikasa assumed it was the nerves from those events. Eren, however, decided to ask his best friend what was wrong in a polite way.

“What’s up with you, Armin? You look like you’re about to shit yourself.”

Armin made a strangled noise from Eren’s blunt comment, stumbling with his words, “Nothing’s wrong! Just worried about Mikasa.”

Mikasa narrowed her eyes at her friend and said, “Thank you for the concern, but I am perfectly fine. You, however, are not. Spill it, Armin. What’s got you so worked up?”

Armin anxiously looked around their surroundings to make sure they were alone as he spoke in a whisper, “Well, um, while you and the captain were fighting, I had a somewhat interesting conversation with section commander Hange.”

“Okay, so what? Did Hange weird you out with her titan talk?” Eren said frustrated.

Armin took a deep breath as he said, “No, no, it wasn’t that. It was something she said about the captain and Mikasa regarding their, um, surname.”

Mikasa was confused as the blond boy continued saying, “She mentioned that Captain Levi and Mikasa just so happen to share the same last name….”

Eren and Mikasa had blank stares on their faces as the news settled in.  _ The same last name?  _ Mikasa thought to herself. That didn’t make sense. She had never even heard the captain’s last name and now it’s supposedly her own? Fear crept down her spine as she thought of the meaning behind this news. She felt like she could throw up her breakfast as she asked Armin her next question.

“Does this mean that me and that arrogant bastard are related?” She exhaled shakily. Her fear and anger levels were rising dangerously as the pounding in her nape increased.

Armin looked up at her and said, “From what commander Hange said, no. You are not related.” 

Mikasa released the pent up breath she had been holding in her lungs. She looked over at Eren to see him with frown lines marking his face. He had an irritated expression as he looked to Armin, still not making eye contact with her.

“Okay, so they have the same last name? Lots of people do. Doesn’t mean anything important, so why are you so worked up about it?” Eren remarked.

Mikasa returned to looking at Armin as he fiddled with his hands. He met her eyes as he said, “Well, she mentioned how she had these, I don’t know, theories on their family history, whatever that means. I’m guessing, though, with how they fought today, that Mikasa and the captain are now on Hange’s curiosity list.”

Eren’s eyes widened a tiny amount as the news settled in with Mikasa. She had been hearing the stories from Eren of what it was like to work Hange. How any little detail could warrant a brand new, oftentimes painful, experiment. If she and Levi were in her line of sight, this would mean Mikasa would be subjugated to a whole new conundrum. Mikasa reached her hand to the back of her neck to relieve some of the intense pressure building there. She released a heavy sigh at the information.

“Guess I’m gonna have to stay out of her way if I know what’s best for me. Walls know that I can't handle being around the captain anymore than I have to.” She huffed.

Visions of her laying on the dirt floor came back to her mind suddenly. The pressure of his chest against her back and the tight grip of his hands on her wrist made an appearance in her thoughts. She was trying her hardest to fight against him, yet she could  _ feel _ his smug victory through her mind. His breath tickled her ear as the heat of him leaning in so close to her sent a shameful shiver down her spine. All she could feel to do was to try to keep fighting, but his words stopped her dead in her tracks.

_ “Glad to see you feel the same way, Ackerman.” He whispered lightly into her ear. _

The shock that overcame her body made her bury her face into the ground to hide the confusion and embarrassment. What the hell did he mean he was glad she felt the same way? Could he possibly feel her the same way she can feel him? Or was it something else? Either way, it made her want to crawl into a titan’s mouth and get eaten alive. She sent a silent prayer to whatever deity there was to distract her comrades from her defeat and embarrassment. Luckily for her, Levi decided to call a quits for the day. However, once Levi rose from his position, she lifted her head slightly to see Eren glaring the captain down with deadly force. He looked as if he wanted to take on Levi once again. Mikasa was confused yet too tired to care at the moment.

Now standing at his side, Mikasa tried looking at Eren after her statement. He still wouldn’t meet her gaze. Armin eyes danced between the two figures in front of him. It was clear that there was a tension between them. However, Armin was more concerned for Mikasa as she was more than likely to become the new test subject for their eccentric section commander. He hoped that whatever silent fight his friends were having would be put to the side, so they could focus on the real issues at hand. 

Sighing, Armin said, “Alright, lets go clean before Sasha gets the chance to be the first one to dinner.”

All three nodded and made their way into the stony castle together as the day came to a close. 

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Levi he’s always so sad it seems. I hope you all have a happy New Year and see you in the next update!


End file.
